


purple and white

by whaleing



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Emily needs a hug, F/M, Hurt Emily Prentiss, bau besties, i lowkey really hate this but oh well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 08:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30086328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whaleing/pseuds/whaleing
Summary: in which doyle taunts, and emily breaks
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Emily Prentiss, Ian Doyle/Emily Prentiss
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	purple and white

she shakes her head and feels her pulse race as she opens the box. purple and white flowers laying there, the epitome of innocence, but she knows otherwise. the lid is slammed back on and the heavy breathing starts. she paces around her apartment and wonders ‘why me?’ but she tells herself she’s fine and doesn’t sleep that night. 

the next day in the office she’s shaky, on edge. they notice. they try to talk to her, but she has everything wrong with her life stacked into neat little rows waiting to explode. she pours too much splenda into her coffee and morgan teases her for it whilst reid rattles off the latest statistic on the sweetener from the previous week. she knows they’ll catch on soon, they’re profilers for heaven’s sake, and she knows it won’t be long until he figures it out as their dark eyes meet. she breaks eye contact first. 

she’s called into his office and she lies to him, pretends her life is stable, like it won’t crash in burn within seconds, and avoids eye contact. she almost breaks in front of him, she wants to trust him, and she can but her walls are too high, and so she goes home early. she feels the gaze of the team heavy on her shoulders as she blinks back tears getting into the elevator. 

she feels sick most of the evening, reeling from the guilty feeling that is slowly killing her, and sits in the bathtub dreading the moment she has to face everything. she sits there until the water is stone cold and she’s shaking. she’s so out of it that when the door opens she’s unprepared and her pulse quickens, as she pictures her death and prays that it’s quick. the footsteps are slow and a strangled sob escapes her body as she pulls her knees to her chest, cursing herself for not being able to defend herself, imagining body lying there, mangled. bloody. but it’s just aaron and he slips in behind her and allows her to relax into his embrace, kissing her forehead slowly and whispering sweet nothings into her ear. 

afterwards they lay in bed, and she traces patterns into his skin as she listens to the comfort that is his heartbeat. she tilts her chin up and kisses him softly, letting out a small moan when his tongue envelopes hers. she hitches her knee over his hip and allows herself to hover over his body as she removes her top. almost immediately aaron’s hands and lips are everywhere. she lets out a whine as their hips collide and pulls his face up to hers, leaving open mouthed kisses on his jaw. they both pant heavily before emily realises that they’re going too far. she apologises profusely, but he just takes her face into his hands, and kisses her softly on each cheek telling her that it’s okay and it’s all going to be fine. he pulls her into his arms, trapping her in his embrace. it reminds her of ian, the way she is confined, unable to escape and it scares her. she gets less than three hours before she sits up gasping for a breath she doesn’t have. aaron just sleeps on next to her, oblivious to it all, her past, present and future.

she comes into the office the next day clutching a coffee, dark bags evident under her eyes. she’s not at her desk for twenty minutes before a package is brought to her. emily’s curious- and apprehensive. she knows she hasn’t ordered anything recently and it’s not her birthday so it couldn’t be a present from a family member. she opens it slowly and lets it fall to the floor when purple and white flowers come sprawling out, staining the floor of the bau. photos follow too, recent ones. of her in line at the coffee shop, getting in a taxi after girls night, photos of her in the bathtub- and what scares her most- photos of jack in emily’s arms laughing as they feed the ducks. all of a sudden her hands are slick with sweat, and it’s hot. too hot. emily fingers at the collar of her shirt, avoiding the wandering eyes of her friends as they slowly approach the scene. 

she zones out completely, and when she comes to, she’s seated in her desk chair and aaron is kneeling next to her, hand on her shoulder. her talks to her softly, the complete opposite of his usual work self, and she can tell he is scared too. scared for jack, scared for her. she opens her mouth to dismiss the teams worries and concerns, before making eye contact with garcia, and then she breaks. she’s pulled into a warm hug that feels like home and lets out a weak smile into penelope’s chest. 

once she’s calm she decides to tell the truth, she knows she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if any of them got hurt. they seem shocked, and some betrayed. she avoids eye contact once she’s done and just lets it explode. it takes rossi yelling at them to shut everyone quiet, and emily’s eyeline shifts to hotch, who in the midst of all of this, has said nothing. she bites her lip and hesitantly takes a step towards him. he retaliates by pulling her into her hug and clutching at her as if she will disappear at any moment. she leans into him and lets him lead as they figure out what to do next. 

the flowers don’t stop and neither do the photos. for each package received, emily gets more anxious as the threats start, and she knows the end is nearing. it’s two weeks later, when she escapes the team’s watchful eyes and goes to confront doyle. to end all of this for good. as she nears the warehouse where she knows he’s hiding, something catches her eye. a lone purple and white flower, sitting there, taunting her. it distracts her completely and then she hears the gun cock. 

“hello lauren.”


End file.
